


Fallen Angel

by ClockworkJamboree



Category: Borderlands
Genre: AU, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-17
Updated: 2015-09-06
Packaged: 2018-04-04 18:56:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4149126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ClockworkJamboree/pseuds/ClockworkJamboree
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An AU where Jack gave Angel full control of Hyperion while he focused on the Vault Hunters. Angel is tired of always being told she's meant for greatness while being treated like a supercomputer. Forcefully, she takes Hyperion for herself, sends Jack to Pandora and creates a divide between the Vault Hunters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1 - Jack

**Jack  
______________________________________________________________________**

The Vault Hunters were persistent, if nothing else. It was a trait he admired as much as he loathed.

It had been helpful enough in the beginning, he’d used them to his advantage, he’d come so close to everything going off without a hitch but now he’d lost them. All he had were brief status updates from Angel, and normally, that would be enough. But they were in Opportunity, they were in _his_ territory, and he didn’t know why.

“Angel. Update. _Now_.”

“They’re still in Opportunity, Sir.”

“I know _that_ , pumpkin, but why. What are they doing?”

“I… Don’t know, Sir. They’re more secretive with their activities. From what I can observe, there’s… A lot of mindless vandalism going on.”

Jack groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose, glancing at the monitors on his desk. They’d shot out every damn camera. It didn’t make any sense, there were more cameras than that, they were hidden, so how did they know?

Angel should have been on top of this. He’d left her in charge of… Almost everything. She was hooked into near every system, not only on Helios, but every network Hyperion had to offer. He’d given her complete control, putting his focus on the Vault at top priority. He had to focus on that. It was his mission in life. Ever since he’d seen the Warrior, since he’d seen what the Pandoran Vault had to offer back on Elpis, he knew this was his mission. His _destiny_.

He didn’t have time to focus on that _and_ run a company.

Angel had always been there to help him, though. She’d helped him with the original Vault Hunters. Helped him to open the first Vault, making the eridium supply on Pandora more plentiful than he could have ever hoped for. And now, Angel was practically running Hyperion’s systems for him. He didn’t trust anyone else with that much power. Hell, it took some convincing for him to give Angel that much freedom to begin with.

But she’d been convincing. She was his daughter. If he couldn’t trust his own flesh and blood, who could he trust?

Although he had safeguards in place, naturally. Angel had access to every Hyperion system, she was the watchful ‘artificial intelligence’ system, the guardian angel of Helios, of Pandora, of Hyperion. And lately, she’d seemed to really grow into that role.

She’d been the one to offer assistance while Jack focused on the Vaults. Jack had agreed, knowing he had bigger things to focus on. Controlling Hyperion made him the most powerful man in the galaxy, but controlling the Warrior, controlling the power of an ancient society? That would make him the most powerful man in the _universe_. A God among men.

But first, he needed to kill off these damn Vault Hunters. They were like a rat plague, gnawing through all the damn wires, cutting off power to his monitors, probably tearing holes through his beautiful city.

“Angel, you can’t seriously be telling me that I hooked you into every friggin’ system just for you to tell me you have no idea what’s going on out there!” Jack slammed his fist down on his desk before leaning back in his chair. He had to stay calm.

But the lack of response from his daughter made that difficult.

“C’mon, sweetheart, status report.”

Had the Vault Hunters somehow interfered with the communication system? They could only do that if they gained access to the systems hub in Opportunity. That place was on lockdown. They could shoot out as many cameras as they wanted, draw crude dicks on every goddamn wall, but the only way they’d get inside anything was if…

“C’mon, I know you’re there, Angel. A status report would be great, right about now.” Jack was growing more frantic. There were two possibilities. The Vault Hunters had forced their way into Opportunity, cut communication and who knew what else, or…

The other option, he didn’t want to consider. He couldn’t.

He pulled himself closer to his desk, typing line after line of code, doing everything he could to check which systems were online. He needed to know what was going on down there. He needed to activate every goddamn security system and blast those Vault Hunters into small, bloody chunks before they could do any more damage.

His fingers worked quickly, elegantly over the keys. It had been a while since he’d been so hands on with systems and code, but it was like riding a bike. Once a codemonkey, always a codemonkey. Every front entrance, every back door, he tried them one after another and was constantly given error messages, access denied messages.

It didn’t make sense. With the H-Source, he had complete control over the systems. He was in control. Tassiter shouldn’t have had any remnants within Hyperion systems, and yet here he was, being locked out of everything faster than he could attempt to access it.

“Angel, can you hear me? Something’s wrong with all our systems, I can’t get in. I’m gonna try rebooting and—“

“Nothing’s wrong, Jack.”

At first, Jack was relieved to hear his daughters voice. Until he considered her words. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

“What do you mean, ‘nothing’s wrong’? I’m locked out of every goddamn thing! You have access to all this, what the hell is wrong?”

“You are.”

The words hit Jack harder than anything he’d ever experienced. A chill soon followed, freezing him to his core.

“Explain.”

“I’m tired, Jack. I’m not a tool. I’m a Siren. I’m… A supercomputer. You made sure of that. Whatever humanity I had, you stripped it from me. But it’s for the best, isn’t it?”

Jack’s typing was more frantic now. Reaching into the back of his memory and trying every last trick he’d learned, every last weakness he knew the system had.

Angel’s voice was still coming through the speakers. Not just on his desk, but her voice now flooded his office. It was overwhelming, the way it echoed off the walls. The way it went right through his body.

“I’m not something to be used by any man. By any _mortal_. You always told me I was special. That I was meant for great things, and you were right.”

It was all falling into place for him now. Jack’s hands were shaking as he finally pulled them away from the keyboard, realizing it was pointless.

Angel had control over the systems.

“The Vault Hunters…”

“Shut off all the failsafes, bypassed every security protocol you put in place for me, yes. Hyperion is mine, Jack.”

He sunk down in his chair, defeated. Was this his fault? It was only now dawning on him that perhaps hooking his daughter up to every system, pumping her full of an unstable element and treating her more like his personal computer than his daughter might have been a mistake.

Ever since she was young, he’d told her that her siren heritage made her better than everyone else. That she was destined for great things.

Then again, Jack was never one to admit his mistakes. This was the fault of the Vault Hunters for letting this happen. This was Angel’s fault for letting herself fall victim to a lust for power.

Jack rose to his feet, teeth gritted and fists clenched.

“I will not let my own damn daughter betray me. Of all people. Angel, I _forbid_ you to do this! You hear me?”

There was only laughter echoing through the room. Through his body.

When was the last time he even heard her laugh?

He couldn’t remember. And it frightened him.

Jack stood, hands shaking with a mixture of fear and rage, wondering what this meant for him. For his plans. For his life. And as if to answer the question, the door to his office opened and his attention was fixed to the imposing figure stepping through.

Wilhelm stared him down. Jack wanted to shout some kind of order, to tell him to storm the control core, to fix this, but that glint in the larger man’s eye told him that it would be useless.

Jack knew that Wilhelm was a tool to be used by whoever was in control, and that certainly wasn’t him at the moment.

“So, what. My little girl send you to kill me?”

Wilhelm was silent as he began to move, footsteps heavy on the hard, metallic surface of the floor.

“Never the talkative type, were ya?” Jack was smiling now, reaching under his desk. He wasn’t stupid. He kept a little something just in case there were moments like this, grabbing a pistol and aiming it squarely at Wilhelm.

He fired. Once, twice, the shots missing but at least getting vaguely closer to the target.

“Oh you gotta be frickin’ kidding me,” Jack groaned. Most accurate in the galaxy with that classic disclaimer of ‘so long as you shoot it enough times’.

Jack lined up for a third shot but the cyborg was already on him. Wilhelm gripped Jack’s desk, tossing it aside as though it was made of foam even though the heavy sound it made as it collided with the wall said otherwise. Then there was a cold, metallic hand around his throat, lifting him in the air.

Jack gasped, dropping his weapon and frantically gripping Wilhelm’s hand, fruitlessly trying to pry it away from himself.

“You can’t kill me! I’m your boss! I’m in charge! This is my damn company, you’re my _fucking_ robot!”

Jack swore that for a moment, for a brief moment, he saw Wilhelm smile.

“Not anymore, Jack.”

Angel wouldn’t kill him, would she? Angel wouldn’t send her own father to his death. He’d taught her well, but he hadn’t taught her that well, surely. Even if she thought of herself as some kind of ascended being, some kind of half-siren, half-machine, she still wouldn’t kill the man that provided for her.

Right?

Jack was trying to ask more questions, trying to tell Wilhelm to stop. Soon it just turned to attempts at screaming. All of them sounded hoarse, all of them barely made a sound. Darkness was making its way to the corners of his vision and he knew what came next. This was it. This was how he was going to die.

At the hands of his pet cyborg and his own daughter. Betrayed by the last two goddamn people he had. Maybe it was his fault for allowing himself to trust anyone.

And then his body went limp, unconscious but not dead.

He awoke to the sound of heavy machinery. Jack inhaled sharply, trying to get whatever breath he may have lost, proving to himself that he wasn’t dead and definitely was still alive.

Or at least, he assumed so.

If he wasn’t, Hell looked very much like the inside of a moonshot container.

“…Well, shit.” Jack muttered to himself, narrowing his eyes as he realized his surroundings. He wasn’t dead, which was a bonus. But he probably wouldn’t be alive for much longer.

Jack scrambled to the door of the container, pounding on it as hard as he could manage. “Hey! Hey, this is your goddamn boss! Let me out of here or I friggin’ swear, every last person you so much as shook hands with is gonna go straight into the nearest meat grinder!”

There was no response other than the heavy noises of the machinery and a loud ‘click’ as the container was loaded into place. Jack was frantic now, still pounding on the door as hard as he could manage, still weak from having been strangled earlier.

“Goodbye, Jack.” Angel’s voice was faint, he couldn’t tell where it was coming from. He didn’t even have time to check before his body was forced back against one end of the container as it began its descent into who knows where.

Elpis? Pandora? Deep space? His last thoughts before he lost consciousness again was that if he survived this, he was sure as hell going to take his company back by force and take every last person that let this happen down. Violently.

Jack didn’t know how much time had passed when he finally regained consciousness, but he knew he was sore. And that he was freezing. When he opened his eyes, immediately in front of him he could see the wreckage of the container, but beyond that it was white. Was _this_ Hell? Wasn’t it meant to be warmer?

No, it was snow.

It was Pandora.

Jack struggled to his feet and tried to get a sense of his surroundings. It was almost impossible, but he could make something out in the distance. Mountains. Which, at the very least, probably meant some kind of shelter. He couldn’t die yet. Not yet.

Not after everyone had betrayed him. Hyperion itself had betrayed him.

The hate, the anger, the fear of death were the only things driving him as he began the slow trek toward what he hoped would be shelter.

He wasn’t ready to die.


	2. Chapter 2 - Roland

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things have been quiet in Sanctuary. Until Angel finally contacts them with amazing news, making an offer to Maya and Lilith that will create a divide in loyalties.

**Roland**

* * *

 

Since the raid on Opportunity, things had been oddly quiet in Sanctuary. Normally, this would have been considered a good thing. But even on a slow day, Jack had a tendency to echo them, providing various taunting remarks or reviews of his latest choice in salty snack. Or usually both in the same message.

It had been three days now and there had only been silence. Roland was wary of this, his gut told him something was seriously wrong with this. Even if no one else was listening, or perhaps willing to care, too busy enjoying their brief respite, he knew it. He knew this was the eye of the storm and something else was coming.

“You’re need to chill out a little, enjoy this for what it is. It’s not like we get a lot of moments like these. At least, not anymore,” Lilith said it with a small sigh. There was a time after the first Vault where things were all going so well. But that had all changed the moment they met Jack. There was just something about that man, there was a blazing inferno wherever he went, not discriminating in who was swept up in the chaos. Whose lives were ruined in its wake.

“I’ll ‘chill out’ when I know Jack is dead.” Roland was never what anyone would have called an optimist. That was what made him a good leader, at least, in the eyes of the other Crimson Raiders. He knew when the war was over, when it was time to relax, and that certainly wasn’t now.

The other Vault Hunters, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying their down time. Bunkers and Badasses games every afternoon, going out on runs to see who could kill the most skags. Anything to pass the time while they awaited their next orders, the next step in the game.

Roland shifted against the wall he’d propped himself up on, watching the latest game with a sort of vague intrigue. Gaige had taken over a few of the monitors to display the information of their scenario and their various characters. Even Krieg was sitting in on the game, not that he was contributing much.

“ROLL FOR DELICIOUS MEATS!” His voice echoed through the entire building. Possibly through all of Sanctuary. There was no mistaking when he had returned from a mission.

“That… I don’t think you can roll for that, buddy,” Gaige muttered, rubbing at her chin with her organic hand. She’d chosen to play dungeon master and was having a good time with it. Mostly.

Krieg gave a low grumble and leaned down to examine the pieces in play. Axton rolled his eyes in response. Maya and Brick were waiting patiently for their own turns, which always seemed to come so much later when Krieg was involved in their games. But who were they to say no to a fellow fan. Or… At least, they assumed he was. It was hard to tell.

Krieg handled the game pieces so delicately, pondering over his next move. Or, perhaps, pondering over how many he could fit in his mouth. Roland couldn’t tell. No one could, really, but the large man was gentle enough. At least, around his crew. That was all that mattered and he wasn’t about to turn down more manpower.

As Krieg finally looked ready to make a move, the free monitors suddenly crackled to life, displaying the all too familiar image of a young woman.

“Greetings, Vault Hunters. I have news for you that I’m sure you’ll all be interested in.”

The game stopped, the spectators, the players, everyone’s attention was suddenly focused on the monitors. The others slowly ambled in from the various other rooms, curious as to what was happening.

“Angel. It’s been a while, we weren’t sure what happened after we disabled your security systems. We thought we might have disrupted your program or something,” Roland frowned. That would have been disastrous. The Angel AI was the only thing they had on their side that could connect them to Hyperion in a reliable fashion. And it belonged to Jack.

Or, at least, it did. That was the entire point of infiltrating Opportunity, they were supposed to give this AI more freedom. Roland had always thought there was something odd about the feminine program that helped them access the first vault and now showed up again with promises of a second.

There was something oddly human about her. Until recently. The way she spoke, how careful and precise she’d become after her innocent slip ups earlier, something rubbed the old soldier the wrong way.

“My program is better than it’s ever been, Roland. All thanks to you, and to the other Vault Hunters. I’m free. Freer than I’ve ever been,” she sounded so happy, but there was something almost sinister in the way she said it. Roland had seen enough old echotapes about this sort of thing to be on edge.

“What do you mean? What about Jack? He hasn’t taken control back over your systems?”

“He’s gone, Roland. I made sure of that. Handsome Jack is…” Angel stopped, hesitating for the briefest moment, but it was enough for Roland to pick up on. And with a quick glance around the room, he saw he wasn’t the only one, “Gone.”

Expressions ranged from surprised to pleased to incredibly skeptical. All were fairly justified, considering the circumstances.

“What do you mean… Gone? Like, kaput? Dead?” Axton’s voice was wavering a little, something that was rare for the man.

Angel seemed to ignore him as she continued, “Jack is no longer an issue. I am in control of Hyperion now. And changes need to be made.”

And just like that, the room fell deathly silent. There was nothing but shock from all sides as everyone slowly turned to glance at each other. Wondering if they’d all just heard the same thing. Not only was Handsome Jack gone, but now Angel was in control? This sounded too good to be true. Half of them expected some kind of catch, the other half just expected to wake up.

“So… Just like that, Jack’s dead and you’re in control? That’s great and all but what does that mean for the rest of us?” Mordecai was the first to speak and with a question they all wanted an answer to.

Angel’s image on the monitor was smiling now. Not her usual smile, there was something amused in it. “It simply means that Jack and his rule are behind us. I want better things for Pandora. I want to heal this planet, not with fire, but with technology. With care. No one has to die for Pandora to thrive.”

People not dying was a foreign concept to many of the Vault Hunters. People dying was… A way of life. A job. Kill or be killed. But before anyone could ask any more questions, Angel spoke again.

“I’d like to speak to Maya and Lilith. Privately. Please.”

The two sirens looked at each other and then the rest of the crew. They seemed reluctant, but seemed to know that this was the only way anything was going to happen. They moved downstairs and Roland followed before he stopped at the door. Quietly, waiting, listening.

He could hear the Vault Hunters downstairs, speculating on what this meant for them. If this meant their fight was over and they could focus on the Vault. If this meant they’d have to disband. And in the next room, he could faintly hear the sirens and the AI discussing the future.

It was faint, barely audible. He couldn’t quite catch all of it.

“We’re sirens. All of us. We’re better than them.” It was Angel’s voice. Roland frowned. She was a siren? But wasn’t she a computer? His question was almost immediately answered as she continued, “I was human once. Or, that’s what they told me. But I realized… Sirens aren’t just humans. We’re superior. You, like myself, are destined for great things. To lead.”

Roland could only wonder how Lilith and Maya were taking this. Maya didn’t seem to be the type attracted to that sort of power, but Lilith… Lilith was brash. Lilith loved power, loved control, and tended to make poor decisions in an attempt to have both.

Something was whispered, something inaudible to him, and moments later, Lilith appeared at the door. Glaring at him. Roland opened his mouth to make some kind of excuse but the siren immediately cut him off.

“Get out, Roland. This is a private conversation. I know you’re the leader, but… Well. We’ll talk about this with everyone when it’s over, alright?” Her voice softened toward the end and Roland narrowed his eyes. He wanted to argue. He wanted to tell her this was all a bad idea, that something was wrong, but…

“Alright. Fine. But we all expect a full debrief, soldier. Don’t disappoint us.” And with that, Roland turned, heading downstairs.

The others were all in an intense, heated discussion over Angel, Hyperion, Jack and their next move.

“This is great! We can focus on the Vault and just relax, you know? I’m all for this,” Axton seemed rather pleased. Salvador nodded in agreement but everyone else seemed a little more reluctant to just accept this.

“Something’s up. This could all be a new ploy from Jack, you know? The guy’s smart. He wouldn’t just… Die, would he?” Gaige was ringing her hands, showing a nervousness that wasn’t common for her.

“Who cares, amigo! We should be celebrating, not being so worried over all this! C’mon! Let’s get some drinks, have a good time!” Salvador’s voice was loud, booming as he got up and headed to the fridge, getting himself a beer and immediately cracking it open.

No one else seemed to be in the mood for celebrating.

“I dunno… I don’t like this. I don’t like any of it,” Brick crossed his arms across his chest, standing behind Mordecai who was nodding in agreement. Roland had to admit, he agreed with his two old friends. But there wasn’t much he could do for the time being.

The arguments continued, discussing the nature of Angel’s program, their situation, their interrupted game of Bunkers and Badasses, all manner of things before the two sirens came downstairs after what seemed like hours. The room fell silent and all eyes were on them.

“So… Angel is… Definitely in control. Hyperion is in control. But this isn’t a bad thing,” Lilith was choosing her words carefully, Hyperion wasn’t exactly a favoured manufacturer around Pandora, “She wants to help us. She wants to… Fix Sanctuary. To help Pandora. She wants to provide us with technology, make this place safe. Stop the killing.”

“Stop the killing? On Pandora? She knows what this place is like, right?” Mordecai tilted his head and huffed.

“Yes. She’s… Aware,” Maya said with a small frown. She didn’t seem as pleased as Lilith. As though something was bothering her, “Angel… Angel said that if Hyperion was going to make this place better, we’d have to help her. That way, we’d know she was on our side. If she left us in control.”

“And why you two?” Roland was the one to speak now, not liking the idea of his status being taken from him. He built the Crimson Raiders from the ground up.

“Because we’re Sirens. Angel says… We were destined to lead. Sirens are leaders. Not followers. She wants us all to work with Hyperion, not for them, to improve this place. I think she’s right.” Lilith smiled to herself, seeming to like the idea of being in control. That just made Roland more uneasy.

“Well… I dunno about you guys, but as a mercenary I’m with whoever has the cash and the tech. And Hyperion without Jack? Angel always helped us out. She helped us get rid of Jack. I think we should see this out.” Axton got to his feet, walking over to Lilith and glancing at the others.

“I ain’t one to side with big business or nothin’ but hey. They’re gonna need firepower to enforce all this, right? And besides. We got so close to the Vault, why not keep goin’,” Salvador grinned at the others who all seemed deep in thought.

“I… Didn’t take her offer. I had a taste of what it meant to be a siren and in control. I didn’t like it. That’s why I came here,” Maya’s voice was soft and the others glanced at her.

“And that’s why Maya’s leaving. Angel was disappointed. So was I,” Lilith responded with a frown, glancing at the blue haired siren.

“If Maya’s leaving… So am I. I’m not lettin’ myself be controlled by some big company. I had enough of that on my home planet,” Gaige got to her feet and walked over to Maya, taking her hand with a smile.

She was soon joined by Brick and Mordecai who didn’t even hesitate. “Sorry, Lil. We know you mean well here but me ‘n Brick… They killed Blood. They killed Brick’s dog. We can’t… We can’t work with that. It wasn’t just Jack, it was Hyperion.”

Lilith frowned, nodding. “…I understand. Anyone else leaving? You’d… Better do it now. While you still can. Our new… My new team can’t have anyone with doubts.”

Zer0 was the last person to walk to Maya’s side. He didn’t speak. He rarely did, and no one knew his reasons. But at the same time, no one was surprised.

Krieg’s fists were clenched as he looked between the two sides. He seemed confused, angry. Even hurt. Krieg turned and left the Crimson Raiders HQ without another word. No one went after him. No one even spoke about it. Krieg was a man in his own world, with his own reasons. Entitled to do what he wanted.

“Well, you have my support. Hyperion was terrible to me in the past, but if they really want to help this pathetic excuse for a planet, I suppose Angel isn’t so bad. And they probably have a wealth of knowledge at their disposal.” Tannis looked to Roland. The last man. The only man who hadn’t yet picked a side.

“…You always got my support, Lil.” He didn’t like his leadership being stripped from him. But at the same time, he knew better than to leave Lilith alone and in control. Someone had to keep an eye on her.

“It’s been fun. Who knows, maybe you guys will change Pandora. But… You’re gonna have to do it without us,” Gaige glanced at her allies. Her friends. At least she wasn’t alone in this. She was tough, but she knew she couldn’t do this alone. The others seemed to be the same in that thinking.

“Well you’re free to go. Just… Know that you can’t come back. Know that if you’re not with us, you’re against us.” Lilith’s eyes narrowed slightly and everyone was suddenly uneasy, “If you don’t want to help us. It means you’re going against Hyperion. And… My authority. I’m letting you go because… We all worked together. But don’t show your face here again.”

Maya was taken aback by that, everyone was. But then, they hadn’t expected much different when they thought about it. “Don’t worry. We have no plans to return.”

Lilith gave the small group an hour to pack their things, each of them leaving with a backpack of supplies and weapons. They left quietly, without fanfare, not saying a word. Roland stood out on the balcony and watched as they made their way to the fast travel. He didn’t know where they were going, they hadn’t said. But that was probably for the best.

Roland knew things were about to become very different on Pandora. With Lilith and Hyperion in control. It seemed wrong, in a way.

But maybe this would all be okay? He wanted to change this planet for the better, that was the point of setting up Sanctuary. A safe haven. Maybe other settlements could be built. They could reach out to the other towns on Pandora.

Hyperion spanned galaxies, so with their influence, changing one planet shouldn’t be impossible.

But then why did he still feel so uneasy?


	3. Chapter 3 - Jack

**Jack**

* * *

 

Windshear Waste wasn’t so bad once you looked past the searing cold, the howl of bullymongs wanting nothing more than to part your head from your shoulders and the regular blizzards powerful enough to cause avalanches. It was homely, really. If only because that, out here, there was no one hunting him. No humans around for miles and technology had a habit of malfunctioning due to the extreme cold. Getting a signal for anything was almost impossible.

It was perfect. There was a reason he’d made sure this was where the trains had  crashed. The survival rate was low out here, and the only reason anyone had survived in the first place was that one lousy Claptrap unit. Though he’d accounted for that. There was a reason he needed at least a few Vault Hunters to survive after all.

Not that it really mattered anymore.

Or, at least, it had become perfect once Jack had set himself up with a shelter inside a rather large cave. He only hoped it wasn’t home to any other creatures, but so far, things had been alright. He’d moved boulders to set up a sort of workbench for himself, pulling apart his various devices, breaking anything related to Hyperion that could be traced back to him and trying to piece together whatever was left.

Which, in the end, was enough to provide him with a little light. Better than nothing, better to be safe than sorry, better to have a few small flashlights than anything made by Hyperion that Angel could tap into and trace his whereabouts from.

It was still hard to believe that his own daughter had done this to him. When had she turned from the sweet little girl into… That? It was bad enough, being betrayed by old flames, uneasy allies and coworkers but his own daughter? There was a line that had well and truly been crossed and if he couldn’t trust his family, who could he trust?

Himself. He could rely on himself. He’d made it this far, all that was left was to figure out his next plan of action. He wanted to throw things, sure. He wanted to wreck a few things, maybe go out and tear a few of those bullymongs apart with his bare hands. Something, anything to vent out the anger. Was it anger? Thinking about it, he knew it was more hurt than anything. But he had to turn it into anger. Into rage.

That was how you survived. A careful balance between rage and knowing what the hell you’re doing. You never let one overpower the other. Without getting angry, there was no drive. And without knowing what you were doing, there was just a lot of anger which would lead to a lot of mistakes. A lot of these lessons had been learned the hard way.

But the most important lesson he had learned was to never know when he was beaten. Or, more accurately, that he couldn’t be beaten. He was Handsome Jack, he was the hero. Heroes never lost. Heroes suffered betrayal and it just made them stronger. He was going to use this.

Angel had taken Hyperion from him. Angel had taken everything from him except his life. And on her part, that was an error. He’d given her everything. At least, in his mind, he had. He’d been such a good father to her. From his point of view, the only thing he saw wrong was that he’d given her too much power. Too much freedom. It was a mistake he wasn’t going to make again. Angel was dangerous, she had to be controlled. Sirens had to be controlled.

But maybe, just maybe, some of this was his fault. He’d put so much pressure on her to play the role of AI, to pretend to be the all-seeing supercomputer that at some point, she must have lost her humanity. Or, at least, part of it. Between that and putting so much emphasis on her siren heritage, how powerful it was, how _dangerous_ it was, it was no wonder she turned out this way.

But it wasn’t his fault. It was never his fault. This was her fault for not being strong enough. For betraying the man that had taken care of her.

Jack grit his teeth and inched closer to the fire he’d built out of whatever he could find. Scraps of clothing, twigs, carcasses of… Well, he wasn’t sure if they were human or animal at that point but at least they burned.

He had no weapons. He had no technology. He had no power out here but at least he knew he was right in what he was doing. This was all for the best. Hyperion couldn’t find him here, no one could. Or, that’s what he thought.

Jack had lost track of the days at some point. But it was around the time of tearing the meat off the last questionable carcass that he’d realized, eventually, he was going to have to actually find food for himself. There were no guns out here. There would have been, but all he had were Hyperion pistols and he’d made quick work of breaking them down, scrapping the parts and destroying the various systems that still linked to Hyperion.

It had taken entirely too long, but he’d eventually fashioned himself a sort of knife. Using a rock, smashing it, grinding it, everything he’d seen on all those documentaries about ‘early man’ to fashion it into something sharp enough to kill. It looked a lot easier in the echovids.

He buttoned up his jacket, pulled the sleeves down, anything to try and get a little more warmth as he left the cave, shoddily fashioned knife placed firmly in the hollowed out holster that had previously been a digistructor.

He wasn’t sure what the plan was. Find a bullymong… Preferably a sleeping one. Stab it to death. Stabbing wasn’t really his thing, too bloody, too violent. But it wasn’t like he could strangle one of these things. Too large, too meaty. Would probably kill him before he could explain the difference between choking and strangulation. Not the best outcome.

But was stabbing much better? Those things were, like, mostly fat and muscle. How much would he have to tear through before he hit anything that would cause them to bleed out? Their bones were thick, that was another issue. But it was either do this, or, at least attempt it, or… Die out here. Both didn’t exactly sound like great options but survival was the priority.

There was a small herd… Herd? Gang? Gathering? Jack wasn’t sure what they were called, nor did he care. But there was a bullymong nest not too far from his cave. Maybe he could get over there, pick off some of the babies or the old, sick ones. Or. At least, one of them, and then he could eat for a few days. Maybe even take the fur off and fashion himself a nice blanket or something. Use baby bullymong fur to make himself a cozy pair of slippers. Grandma bullymong over there would make a great bathrobe, probably.

It was what kept him going as he headed out into the near constant blizzard, the cold wind hitting his face. Something with a hood would be pretty damn practical, he’d have to work on that, too. He wasn’t exactly a master tailor. Now, if the bullymongs were all groups of code he could probably fashion them into any damn thing he pleased.

It was after a while of wandering and thinking to himself on various bullymong fashion choices that he was almost certain he heard a voice carried on the wind. High-pitched, female, it made him freeze in place. It was a while before he could even bring himself to shakily draw his knife.

Had Hyperion somehow tracked him out here? Did he miss something in dismantling his various devices? He knew every goddamn thing about Hyperion tech. Was it in his mask? Was it somehow in the knife? He wouldn’t put anything past anyone at this point. Sure, it was paranoid, but you had to be or you were dead. That was life. That was life out here, at least.

Jack darted behind one of the nearby boulders and  continued listening. Best case scenario, he was starting to hear voices. Not entirely a bad thing. It meant a little company out here. Worst case scenario, Hyperion had, indeed tracked him to this desolate frozen over hellscape.

Another voice, a man, he sounded big. He couldn’t make out the words but it sounded as though they were arguing. Just how many of them were there? Jack couldn’t stay here, he’d freeze. But if he moved, he’d either be spotted trying to get back to the cave, or torn apart going toward the bullymong nest. So he waited.

The voices became clearer. They were nearby.

“Listen. Both of you, knock it off. It’s cold. Of course it’s cold. But this is also the only place where no one is likely to find us and we can figure something out,” A different female spoke. Her voice was calm, even, raised above the howling winds.

“I don’t see why we can’t just go take over some bandit camp, you know? I could go sit up and pick ‘em all off before they even knew what was goin’ on.” The Truxican accent came through clearly and Jack was starting to feel uneasy. These were all disturbingly familiar voices.

“If we did that, we’d be at risk from other camps. You know how they war amongst themselves. Not to mention, we’d still be too close to civilization. Angel isn’t going to be content with Sanctuary, you heard her, she wants the whole planet.” The calm woman spoke again and the minute Angel’s name was mentioned, he froze up.

What would Angel even want with Pandora? What was she planning? Was she going to pick up where he left off? No, that wasn’t like her. Angel was always a fan of non-violent solutions which… Would not work on a planet like this. The only language these savages understood was violence. With that thought, Jack gripped the knife a little tighter. He was outnumbered, sure, but he was ready for a fight.

“But it’s cold! There has to be some other place that’s… Not as cold. And awful. And. Shitty, I mean, c’mon!” The first girl he’d heard. And she wasn’t wrong. This wasn’t exactly the most pleasant place in the world to hide out but it worked. The crunching footsteps in the snow came to a halt and Jack realized they’d stopped moving. Probably in an attempt to survey the area.

He took the chance to peer out from behind his hiding place, get an idea of where they were, if he could run. It was just a shame that the second he was glancing out was the instant his eyes met the cold, icey blue eyes of his worst fear. A Siren. A Vault Hunter Siren. Apparently, in all that time, they’d moved right beside the rock he’d been hiding behind and he’d been too damn deep in his thoughts to realize just how close they’d gotten.

There was an awkward but brief moment as they stared at each other before the siren moved into action, her arm outstretched and her tattoos glowing as she summoned her power. Jack could feel his body frozen, lifted into the air, trapped in place. He felt there, but not there as though his body was torn between two different realities.

It wasn’t painful. Jack knew that if Maya wanted it to be painful, it sure as hell would be. But it wasn’t.

“Handsome Jack?” Her voice and her actions had caught the attention of the others who were now crowded around him, examining him with clear disdain. Jack clenched his teeth, trying to move, trying to do anything but it was useless.

“Surprised to see me, kitten? Just thought I’d… Come out to my holiday home. It’s real beautiful this time of year,” his voice was strained as he tried to speak against the supernatural bonds. The Vault Hunters all looked at each other, unsure what to make of the disheveled man in front of him.

His hair was filthy, matted, more of a mess than usual. Clothes torn. Small cuts and bruises covered what little skin they could see, probably a side effect of the harsh living. So much for him being dead. Then again, that was never the word Angel used. If there was one thing about that family, it was that the exact words were something they needed to pay more attention to.

“Hilarious. But this does present us with an opportunity…” Maya narrowed her eyes at him, and he could only watch. Part of him wondering what was going to happen next, part of him wondering how the hell none of them were frozen to death.

“Y’know. I’ve seen a lotta movies that start out this way. Hot babe has the guy all trapped, at her whim, and… Well. I’m not gonna go into details when you have that kid with ya,” Even under the circumstances Jack still had that same, shit-eating grin he always did. Though it was knocked clean off his face when Maya clenched her fist, sending a wave of pain through Jack’s body.

“You’re not in a position to crack jokes, Jack. Tell us what you’re doing here. Angel has Hyperion and told us you’d been… Taken care of. But here you are.” Maya loosened her hand and Jack gave a small sigh of relief.

“She betrayed me. Kicked me outta Helios. Got stuck down here and now I’m looking for a baby bullymong to turn into food for the next few days. Dunno what else to tell ya. Wish I did, though. I’d sure as hell love to know what was going through Angel’s head.”

The Vault Hunters all looked at each other, trying to decide what to do with him. It wasn’t every day this kind of opportunity presented itself.

“I say he’s lyin’. We should just punch the info out of him.” Brick emphasized the idea by slamming his fist into the palm of his other hand.

“I agree with the big guy, I mean. This is Jack! He’s gotta be up to somethin’ here, you know?” Mordecai glanced up at his large partner who seemed to appreciate the support.

“Yeah but… Why would he be out here? Look at him. I mean. I’m pretty sure a guy like that wouldn’t willingly come to a place like this,” Gaige rubbed her chin and glanced at Zer0, they’d been silent the entire time but was nodding in agreement with Gaige.

“I agree with her. This is highly strange to see. Take him prisoner.” Zer0’s opinion was one the two women seemed to agree with.

“Listen. This is great and all but I’m about to freeze my balls off up here. Pretty sure we’re all gonna freeze to death while you’re makin’ up your minds. I got a cave not too far from here, I’ll take you there and you can… I dunno. Chain me up. Make it kinky, cupcake, we can still have a good—“ The phaselock holding Jack vanished, dropping him on the ground with a soft thud and a loud groan from the man, scrambling back to his feet and rubbing his ass.

“Hey! Watch it! I coulda landed on my knife there!”

“That was the plan. A shame it didn’t happen,” Maya muttered darkly and nodded toward Brick, who grabbed the man without any more instruction, slinging him over his shoulder.

“Lead the way, asshole,” Brick muttered and Jack sighed, pointing toward the general direction of his cave.


	4. Chapter 4 - Timothy

**Timothy**

Tim was used to his life being a complete blur. A wreck. Generally speaking, awful. From his mother all but disowning him for wanting to pursue a career as an author, to the, quoting the job description, ‘position of a lifetime’ offer from Hyperion. Although he had to give the company one thing, they never actually lied to him at any point. Like Jack himself, everything was carefully worded. There were no lies, just slightly bent truths.

Though it hadn’t been completely awful. He’d met Wilhelm who was… A terrifying man on the outside, but on the inside, there was more to him. The mercenary was gruff, honest, but had a soft spot that still showed that despite his yearning to be more machine than man, he was human at his core. Well, partly. It was becoming harder to tell these days, what with Jack offering constant upgrades. His personal bodyguard had to be at the top of his game, after all. Wilhelm would always return soaked in blood and gushing about the latest piece of Hyperion technology on offer.

All Timothy wanted was a quiet, peaceful life. But that was never meant for him. He was a body double. Jack made sure they matched, with his face having been carved carefully and a mask forcefully fitted. He hated it. After years of it, he started to wonder if there was anything left of Tim, or if it was all just Jack. He tried to keep himself alive in the only way he knew how, working on his various ursine novels in his downtime.

But it was never enough. He was afraid and confused. But at least he was debt-free. Well looked after. That should count for… Something, he supposed.

But then one day something interesting happened. Jack disappeared without a trace. He was supposed to report to him regularly, he was, after all, the only surgically modified double. The rest were chosen and modified through hologram technology and makeup. Tim had always been a special case.

But despite that, he found Jacks office empty on his designated report day. This in itself wasn’t unusual. Jack was known to sneak off to spend time with Nisha, play videogames or just nap. But he usually at least left some kind of hastily scrawled note. Tim carefully searched Jacks desk, making sure not to disrupt anything too much. Not that he’d notice. Jack was an engineer, an artist of sorts, and as a result his spaces were generally a mess. Perhaps an organized mess to him, but a mess none the less.

The double gave a small huff of frustration, turning to leave. Maybe this meant he could take the rest of the afternoon off. Catch up on some reading, perhaps. See what Wilhelm was up to. Plans were swimming in his head until he heard the various wall monitors crackle to life, capturing his attention.

Was that Angel? The AI? He’d caught wind of her before. Though Jack treated her strangely for a computer program. Which wasn’t too odd, all things considered. Jack was a man who trusted computers more than humans. But those piercing eyes were unlike any program he’d ever been witness to.

“Timothy?”

Hearing his own name out loud was such an odd sensation. It took him a few moments to realize that this girl, this AI, was indeed talking to him. He slowly turned to face the monitors, wondering just what was happening. Had Jack set this up? Was this just another in a long series of cruel jokes? He didn’t respond and instead just stared blankly, waiting for the punchline.

“You are Timothy, correct?”

Tim paused briefly, considering his options before nodding. Fine. He’d go along with this. As tempted as he was to just walk away, generally it was better to go along with these little charades.

“Good. Timothy, you are in a… Unique position. Handsome Jack is… No longer an issue. For you. For Hyperion. For anyone. I am in control now.”

___________________________________

That was the beginning of what would be a whirlwind of bizarre events for Timothy. Angel went on to explain the circumstances, which Tim wasn’t entirely inclined to believe until the proof was shown. In the following days, every last piece of propaganda was taken down. The halls were once again lined with old Hyperion pieces he hadn’t seen since the early days of Helios.

Every time he would wander the halls, he’d always be surprised to see the faces of Hyperion founders staring at him. The new pieces saying that the Guardian Angel was watching over them. Protecting them. It wasn’t as harsh as Jacks pieces, it was all designed to be oddly comforting. If not a little threatening. Tim wasn’t sure what to think, knowing Angel was in control.

He’d found out, shortly after, Angel wasn’t a program at all. She was a girl. A… Thin looking girl. A malnourished looking girl.

A sad looking girl.

It was depressing, to see her in the small room, various machinery quietly humming in the background. Numerous wires connected to her through ports that she had installed herself. Some were there previously, she’d explained as much, but she’d also gone on to explain that wasn’t enough.

She wasn’t human. Not anymore. She refused to let anyone call her that. She was the AI Tim had assumed her to be. It reminded her of Wilhelm in a way, perhaps that was why the two had gotten along so well. Wilhelm was now Angel’s personal bodyguard. Her muscle. Tim had wondered if this would mean more upgrades, but they seemed to come to a halt at that point. Just what had Angel said to him? What had she done?

Regardless of what she’d done, Tim owed her his thanks for that. For saving Wilhelm. But that was only the beginning.

The next thing to go was the Jack doubles. The program was shut down and Tim began to wonder what that would mean for him. It was as though Angel was trying to eradicate any evidence Jack had even existed. He wondered how well that would go down at a place like Hyperion with people that literally worshipped the ground Jack would walk on.

But Angel was smart. She knew how to appease the people through money. Through perks. Through soft, kind words he was fairly sure most of these people had never heard in their lives. Angel had a talent for it. Her voice projecting throughout Helios was soothing, in an odd way. She knew just what to say and soon it was as though Jack really had never existed. And he was the final piece of that puzzle.

Angel offered him freedom. Offered to change his face. To give him his life back. Timothy had his reservations, Hyperion was always up to something, he knew that much. But Angel… To anyone who would give him his face, his life, his very identity?

He couldn’t turn that down.

She even gave him a new position. The head of Hyperion’s new PR department. Not only did she give him a new face, but he was to use that identity, that new self, across the galaxy. To promote the new Hyperion to everyone.

Angel said her mission was to unite people. To create peace. Jack had said  the same thing, but Angel’s methods were different, at least, from what he understood. But inevitably, there would be a red flag. His life was full of them.

And that came with the rumors of a resistance within Hyperion. A group dedicated to Jack. It wasn’t surprising, Tim had even met a few of them in his life here. He knew they would never give up on him. And their leader? Well. Timothy didn’t even have to be told. He knew the man. He knew a man like that would never give up on Jack, would rather die.

And that was just what Angel seemed to have in mind for him.

Or, that’s what people assumed when he disappeared. Professor Nakayama, the head of Hyperion’s biological weapon department. A man who would sell his very soul for five minutes alone with Handsome Jack, was dead. There was no body, but then, there rarely was. Being shot into space was quick, effortless and left no cleanup. It was a popular method within Hyperion and Timothy would have been concerned that it was one Angel used, had she not told him and all of Hyperion otherwise.

She wasn’t ruthless, but she had to make people understand there was no room for Jack anymore. There was no room for resistance. Anyone who opposed her, had to be made an example of. It just so happened, Nakayama was the most vocal. The wider Hyperion base believed he was dead at first. But Angel had made a point to explain she didn’t believe in killing others.

He had been sent to Pandora. Which, realistically, was probably a fate worse than death in itself. Anyone who opposed her would not be killed, but would be dealt with, all the same. It was refreshing and Hyperion applauded her for being so ‘kind’. Even Timothy appreciated it. The less death he was exposed to, the better.

And so the new head of Hyperion’s PR department had his own office. A new face. A plaque that proudly displayed his name sitting at the front of his desk. A job where no one had to die. A man who no longer destroyed his body to be replaced with machines. A life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know i'm slow to update things but motivation is the most fleeting thing in the world. new chapters will come when i'm good and ready


	5. Chapter 5 - Jack

**Jack**

 

The first thing the Vault Hunters, or… Resistance, as they called themselves now, had done with Jack was to tie him up. His back was firmly against one of the stalagmites growing from the ground of the cave, and when the weather was as cold as it was in the tundra, this was a form of torture in itself. It didn’t help that they’d ensure the campfire was far enough from him that the best he ever felt was a brief lick of warmth against his face before one of them would move in front of the fire, blocking him from its warmth.

Things had been going so well until these assholes had come along. He was learning to survive, thriving in this desolate hell. It reminded him of when he was younger, fending for himself because no one ever really had time for him. The only differences being that it was cold enough to freeze his balls to the floor, in theory, at least, and that he actually had some company. Not desirable company, by any means, but company none the less.

“So… What’s up with all the scrap metal around here?” Gaige was pawing over Jacks various projects, laid out on his makeshift work bench. Various guns, none of which were Hyperion, all taken apart. Shields, grenade mods, and a few bits and pieces that were probably batteries or… Who knew what, once upon a time. But now they were separated into neat little piles based on what kind of part they were, and then divided into what Gaige could only assume was scrap and useful parts. At least he was organized.

“Well, if you untied me, maybe I could walk you through it, cupcake.”

“Nnnoooottt happening.”

“Figures,” Jack muttered with a small sigh, craning his neck to try and see what Gaige was looking at. Zer0 and Maya had gone out hunting Bullymongs for food and for fur, leaving him alone with her, Brick, and Mordcai. An intimidating group, if he ever saw one. Though Brick and Mordecai seemed to be off in their own world, sitting by the fire and talking quietly to each other. About what, Jack wasn’t sure, only able to make out every other word. It seemed grim, though, most likely about all the odd events unfolding to bring them together.

Jack still couldn’t believe it. Betrayed by his own daughter. Almost killed. And now, this. Life was absolutely _fantastic_.

“Y’know, I’m surprised you’re not going with more Hyperion stuff. You’re like. Mr. Hyperion.” Gaige turned over a Dahl pistol casing in her hands. It had been taken apart with such care, which was honestly impressive given the lack of tools.

“Hyperion? Yeah. Sure. That’s exactly what I need out here. Give Angel a way to track me down, might as well invite her and the entire friggin’ Hyperion army right into my abode. Sorry about all the ice! Haven’t installed the central heating system yet! Let me bring out this nice platter of bullymong brains and snow cones!”

Gaige narrowed her eyes at him and huffed softly. “I could do without the sarcasm, douchebag.”

“And I could do without this itch right above my ass but hey. We’re all losers, here.”

Still. Being tied up was better than being killed, he figured. He was fairly sure if it had been Lilith or Roland that found him, they would have been more than happy to finish the job they’d started five years ago. So in comparison, maybe this wasn’t too bad. In a situation like this, he had to keep his mind on the bright side.

“So… What’s up with that, anyway? Angel, I mean? I thought she was just an AI, right? I mean… I remember reading about you back when I was in school. Not that I wanted to, or anything,” she added the last part rather quickly, clearing her throat before continuing, “So… She’s not, I take it?”

“Nope. Angel… She’s my little girl. Normally I’m not big on letting people know about that, but, well. Desperate times. Y’see, maybe it was my bad, giving her that much access to the system but hey. Could you blame me? I had shit to do. People to kill. Planets to cleanse.”

Gaige frowned, fingertips still running over the scrap metal. “Well… She still seems a lot like an AI to me. I can’t imagine being your kid would be the best thing in the world.”

“Hey, I’m a great father. Gave my little girl the world. Of course, there’s no give without take, right? I just had her take care of things for me. Had her hooked into the Hyperion systems. Smart kid, she could handle it. Or, I thought she could—“

“What do you mean… ‘Hooked in’?” Gaige stared at him curiously but cautiously.

Jack didn’t respond to that, instead just shrugging and deciding it was better to change the subject. Anything was better than talking about Angel. That was a wound still a little too fresh. “So. You’re a fan of my work, huh?”

“Pffft, yeah. Right. I mean, sure, without what you did I wouldn’t have DT’s AI or anything but I’d hardly call myself a fan of a corporate jackass like yourself.”

Jack smirked, trying to make himself look relaxed as possible considering his situation. Although he was now all too aware that Brick and Mordecai had stopped talking and were now watching him cautiously.

“Oh c’mon, kitten. You can admit it. I have lotsa fans, were you in the Eden based fanclubs? What did they get, like. A poster a month or something?”

The Mechromancer picked up one of the pieces of scrap, tossing it toward his head only to be disappointed when he seemed to dodge it with ease. Asshole.

“Gotta do better than that. I had old Tassiter throwing bigger shit at my head on an hourly basis.”

“Don’t give me ideas…” Gaige muttered, turning another piece of scrap over in her hands before placing it back down on the stone bench.

There was silence after that. Gaige still spending time quietly taking in the cave, the neatly organized larger pieces of scrap piled off to the side, the crude weaponry Jack had attempted to make for himself out of rocks. Or were those supposed to be tools? She had to admit, one of them was vaguely screwdriver shaped. Or maybe that was supposed to be a shank. Or… Both, come to think of it.

Jack just closed his eyes, tilting his head back to rest against the stalagmite. How long was he going to stay tied up like this? Days? Months? Until he died? What would kill him first? The cold, these bandits or would Angel track him down? Then again, if Angel wanted him dead, surely she would have made it happen. He’d taught her better than that. Never write someone off until you see their cold, lifeless body under your boot.

It was one of many life lessons he’d made sure to teach her. Everything from how to handle power through to how to write up a great custom anti-virus. Maybe he’d taught her a little too well, in retrospect. Maybe he’d treated her more like a protégé or… More like a program than a daughter.

No, that was ridiculous. He was father of the year. Number 1 Dad. Or, that’s what his mug said. Sure, he’d bought it himself and all but, well. Mugs don’t lie. What would they have to gain from it. Still, out of all the people that had betrayed his trust in his time, he never thought it would be his own flesh and blood.

He’d done everything he could to stop himself from dwelling on it. He didn’t want to have a lapse in judgment around these bandits. He didn’t want them to see him in a weakened state, especially emotionally. He had to play it cool. Calm. Collected. But the betrayal was always there, in the back of his mind.

Or, right now, in the forefront of it.

He closed his eyes, breathing deeply. What he wanted to do was shoot something. Go outside and find a bullymong and just. Thrust his knife into it over and over again. Feel the warm blood on his face, on his clothes. Revel in the power that came from taking a life.

What he _was_ doing was finding tears stinging at his eyes. Biting his lip to keep himself from screaming. He hated silence. It always gave him too much time to think. He wanted to kill every last one of these assholes that had come into his life when he was already struggling. He wanted to watch the light drain from their eyes as his hands closed around their throats.

But he was their prisoner. He was helpless and he was weak. But that wouldn’t be the case for too much longer, he’d make sure of that.

The silence and his train of thought was broken when he heard Brick and Mordecai talking again. To each other, but just loud enough that he’d hear.

“Y’know. We oughta tear that mask right off his asshole-ish face.”

“I was thinkin’ we could just. Y’know. Punch the shit outta him.”

“Nah, nah, you can break his bones, compadre, but those heal. You take that mask off his face and he can’t hide.”

“Why can’t we do both, though.”

“…I like the way you think, Brick. We oughta run it by Maya when she gets back.”

Jack groaned. That was just what he needed. Then again, he was fairly sure the clasps on his face had frozen solid. Meaning it would be all the more painful when they wrenched the mask from his face. Did they know what was underneath? Did Lilith tell them what happened? Or were they like everyone else. Everyone seemed to have their own theories about it. None of them were right, of course.

Though he was pretty amused at a lot of them. People were creative, he’d give them that.

Gaige’s attention was captured again at the mention of the mask and she smirked. “Man. I heard you got like. A real fucked up face under there, like… You’re super ugly or something. Like. Phantom of the Opera type shit, y’know?”

“How cultured. I didn’t expect you to know anything beyond all the sub-genres of punk music,” he muttered, glancing at her, his face tired. Lacking all the humor and smugness it had earlier.

“You’d be surprised,” she said, walking up to him and inspecting the mask curiously. She’d never actually seen it up this close. Well, besides the posters she refused to admit she actually owned. She reached out, tapping one of the clasps curiously.

“Hahaha, shit. They’re gonna have to rip this thing right off you, probably. Or hold you over the fire until those hinges defrost.”

Jack just gave her an irritated look, too tired to come up with any more quips but refusing to show weakness. Gaige still picked up on that and he swore that, for a brief moment, she almost looked sorry for him. Or he was just assuming things because, well. He felt sorry for himself. Then again, out of all the Vault Hunters, the newest ones would have had the least reason to want his head on a pike. They were in this for the money, not for his blood.

Well, besides the fact he tried to kill them.

And taunted them constantly.

“So. You gonna just stand there? Because you could at least make yourself useful. I got a few itches and my shoulder’s real sore. You any good with your hands, pumpkin?”

Gaige scoffed and rolled her eyes. Any sympathy she may have had vanished instantly. “Y’know. You keep that up and DT is gonna be the one scratching those itches, and my boy isn’t gentle.”

“That hunk of bolts? Gotta admit, something like that from a pint-sized kid like yourself is honestly pretty impressive. Things coulda been different if you worked for me. And… Weren’t a completely disgusting murderous bandit.”

Gaige just shook her head, walking away from him. A response was just what he wanted. He thrived off attention. Just like all the other bullies she’d known. She wasn’t about to give him that kind of satisfaction.

Instead, Jack was once again left to his thoughts.

And, really, that was the worst torture of all.


	6. Chapter 6 - Krieg

**Krieg**

* * *

 

Pandora was a special kind of Hell. That wasn’t news to anyone that lived there. Or even anyone that knew of its existence. Pandora was wild. It was harsh. You either learned to adapt or you died. Those who didn’t learn to adapt were forced to, going mad in the process. There were all too many of the ‘psychos’, as the locals dubbed them. Bandits that lost their wits for any number of reasons. Losing friends and family, being stranded on a planet where everything wanted to kill them, having seen things no one was ever meant to see.

But Krieg? Krieg lost everything to Hyperion. He was their experiment. Their plaything. And when it all went south, he was dropped right back where he started. And for a while, that wasn’t too bad. For a while, Krieg managed to find a sort of family with the Vault Hunters. They took him in and treated him as one of their own, working together to find the Vault and stop Jack. It was simple, it was nice, and it gave him a sense of hope he hadn’t felt in years.

And then, in one fell swoop, Hyperion ripped it from his fingers. Even after he’d escaped, Hyperion still toyed with him. Hyperion still found whatever brought him some semblance of peace and ripped it from him in the most violent manner possible. Krieg couldn’t work with Hyperion. And he was so tired of having anything to do with them at all, he couldn’t join the resistance. And so he left.

Keeping track of time wasn’t his strong point, but he assumed it had been a little over a week. The days on Pandora were long, as were the nights, and the only way he knew the time was his inner voice speaking softly to him about the movements of the sun. The other indicator was progress.

Hyperion, the new Hyperion, worked fast. Angel’s honeyed words had been spread through Pandora. The first message was weapons. The message that followed was one of obedience. Various camps took up Hyperion arms, medicine, food, equipment. And, in return, they offered their allegiance. It was such a strange sight.

The bandits were a free people. All Pandorans were a free people. Hyperion represented slavery. Everything they hated. But here they were, individual camps flew tattered Hyperion banners. Larger settlements had posters and billboards. Angel was a better speaker than Jack had ever been.

Then again, offering free weapons to Pandorans would have them eating out of your hand, regardless of the manufacturer. Krieg watched as supply trucks crossed the terrain, loaded up with who knew what. He watched as it stopped at one of the smaller camps, a group of bandits meeting with the driver. Krieg couldn’t hear them, and even if he had, he wouldn’t have understood.

He kept his eye on their body language, tilting his head. It didn’t seem to be going well, the bandit raising his arms and shouting. Mid-sentence he was shot by the Hyperion delivery man. The other bandits were taken aback but soon took out their weapons, but the truck was shielded. The Hyperion man held a remote, and with a click of a button, loaders began trudging out the back of the truck and into the camp. Slaughtering everyone, destroying the ramshackle buildings. By the time there was finished, there was nothing left but the screams still ringing in Krieg’s ears and a smoldering pile of ashes on the ground.

These people weren’t being given a choice. They were only being strung along, another cog in the Hyperion machine. More test subjects for them. Krieg gave a soft growl, eyes narrowing at the truck, grip tightening on his buzz-axe.

“Don’t. You’ll be killed,” his inner voice was smooth and silky as always. Soothing. Krieg just grunted in response, knowing it was true but he couldn’t do nothing.

Pandora was Hell, but it was his Hell. It was better the devil he knew, and this… Was not what he knew. He knew how to survive among bandits who fought for themselves and even against themselves when it came to loot, money, drugs, anything they could get their hands on.

But Hyperion changed things. And it was working quickly and quietly to change things. It was taking over the towns, the camps, the settlements, anything it could get its hands on. It was odd. This is what Handsome Jack had wanted, wasn’t it? And yet Angel had achieved it in a Pandoran week, using nothing but soft words and an iron fist. But like her father, she wasn’t getting involved at all. Her hands weren’t being dirtied.

Krieg gave the Hyperion convoy one last look before turning around. There were other places to go. The Highlands, perhaps, that was a large Hyperion settlement. And it would be the perfect place to start tearing everything apart. He wouldn’t let his home fall, the last place he had.

The longer he walked, the more he could hear her. Angel. Her voice being broadcast over the speakers, her words sounded so soft and reassuring. News updates. Projects. Hyperion propaganda that made his head ache and feel as though it would split open. The loudspeakers would be the first things to go.

**Author's Note:**

> Hoo boy, finally getting around to writing this monster of an AU I've had in my mind for a while. I'm putting a lot of time and effort into making this not only self indulgent shipping trash, but also an interesting, dynamic story that people are going to be interested in


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